Did girlfriend, her lover murder millionaire?

Eric Naposki watches the proceedings of Nanette Johnson's arraignment on grand theft and involvement with the murder of William McLaughlin. Photo date: April 19, 1995. FILE PHOTO: Y. NANETTI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SANTA ANA – Nanette Johnston's 1991 ad in a dating magazine read, in part: "Wealthy Men Only ...classy, well-educated woman ... knows how to take care of her man ... you take care of me and I'll take care of you."

The 25-year-old beauty included a photo of herself – in a negligee, according to court documents.

And that's what started the whole thing, according to prosecutors.

The ad apparently caught the eye of William McLaughlin, a 50-year-old multimillionaire who lived inside a ritzy gated community called Balboa Coves in Newport Beach. He made a fortune in the pharmaceutical industry with a device that filters blood, and he was going through a messy divorce after a longtime marriage.

He was lonely and had money. Johnston wanted wealth and had beauty. Together, authorities believe, they were a fatal combination.

McLaughlin and Johnston started dating, and then Johnston moved in to McLaughlin's plush digs.

Three years later, McLaughlin would be dead.

Shortly after 9 p.m. Dec. 15, 1994, someone gained entrance to McLaughlin's home and shot him six times in the chest with a 9 mm handgun. He died in a pool of blood while his son frantically called 911.

Next week, more than 16 years after the shooting, jurors in Orange County Superior Court Judge William R. Froeberg's 10th-floor courtroom will begin hearing testimony in the cold case trial for the first of two defendants charged with special circumstances murder.

MONEY, SEX, GREED

It is the most anticipated trial of the year. The evidence will deal with money, sex and greed.

It has one of the best prosecutors in Orange County – Matt Murphy – who specializes in high-profile homicide cases.

Eric Naposki watches the proceedings of Nanette Johnson's arraignment on grand theft and involvement with the murder of William McLaughlin. Photo date: April 19, 1995. FILE PHOTO: Y. NANETTI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Nanette Johnson makes a face during her arraignment on grand theft and involvement with the murder of William McLaughlin. Photo date: April 19, 1995. FILE PHOTO: Y. NANETTI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
House in Newport Beach where William McLaughlin was shot to death. Photo taken February 10, 1995. FILE PHOTO: C. LAURE

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